E. C. Whitman was a prosperous man who, with his brothers, C. H. Whitman
and Arthur N. Whitman, carried on the family business at Canso. Prior to its
incorporation, the town of Canso was basically owned by the Whitman family, and
so they objected strongly to the incorporation, as it meant the citizens would
then have to pay taxes. The community prevailed with the incorporation,
however, and immediately petitioned E. C. to serve as the mayor. He held this
post for ten years, and the town continued to prosper under his guidance.
This photo is taken from the Canso News of May, 1912, commemorating the one
hundredth year of the Whitman business at Canso. The booklet was left to us by
Aubrey Whitman, my grandfather. Until just last year when I started to do some
serious research into the family origins, we had always thought that E. C. was
our great grandfather because there is a small pencilled "X" next to
his photo in the booklet. What a surprise to find he had no
children..!